Doppelganger
by Marshmellow27
Summary: An exact douplicate of Sora is causing havoc for the digidestined. Can they destroy this imposter before she takes Sora's place? Taiora. 12th chapter up!
1. Doppelganger

This chapter will be short...sorry! I will update soon. R & R!

**Doppelganger**

"Life...isn't it amazing?" Ken didn't seem to be talking to anyone in particular

"How easy it is to create life...to create a body." he admired his work

"But you can't create a mind." he frowned at his imperfection

An exact clone of Sora slowly emerged from the shadows. With curiosity, she took her first steps; surveying every inch of the room. Her eyes darted from corner to corner, her senses prickled at the slightest touch. Wormmon watched in amazement as Ken smirked.

"So human like..." he touched her face

"Yet your far from it!" he spat

"What do you mean master?" Wormmon inquired

Ken chuckled and proceeded to explain his comment

"She looks and acts like a human, but she has the reflexes of a wild cat."

Ken walked around the Sora look-alike as he talked. In return, she only glared at him and lightly growled like a cat would

"_hiss!_"

"Her mind is an empty shell, but I will teach her to be evil, teach her to hate the digidestined!"

Ken reached out to her but she pulled away and scratched his face. She then retreated to the darkness where she watched Ken and Wormmon with two big glowing crimson eyes.

"Doppelganger..." Ken smirked while touching his wound

To be continued...


	2. Ever wonder?

**Ever wonder?**

_Oidaiba park..._

Tai and Sora sat under a tree; enjoying the sun. Sunday afternoons were always boring. Tai nervously fiddled with a flower as he sat extremely close to Sora.

"Sora?" he managed to say

"Yes, Tai?" she turned to face him

There she was, his best friend and love of his life. A warm smile danced across her face and it made Tai melt. With out a word, he leaned closer and placed the small flower behind her ear and caressed her cheek. Words couldn't describe the moment; they both remained in each others' gaze, blushing. It was moments later that Sora broke the silence.

"Tai, do you ever wonder how it is to be in love?" she shyly asked

Love, a feeling he knew all too well. He responded with out looking at her "Yes, all the time."

The conversation didn't have a point. It simply unraveled itself as they went along; it was their own little game of "ever wonder?"

"Ever wonder what its like to eat a peanut butter and pickle sandwich?" Tai nudged her with his elbow

Surprised with the turn of events, Sora scrunched her face and said "Eww, no! Why? Have you?"

Her accusing eyes made Tai laugh "I don't know Sora; I've heard they're pretty tasty!"

They both giggled for a while,until Sora grew unusually quiet.

"Have you ever wondered..." she trailed off

She stopped as if she were thinking. Tai looked at her with curiosity, wondering what could make her prolong her question.

"What it's like to have a twin?" she finally finished

Tai raised an eyebrow and smirked "All the time! Just think, another you that can do your chores and homework!"

"I don't think it works like that Tai."

"Why not?"

"Because! He would have a life off his own! One that you can't control."

"It's MY dream Sora." he pouted

"Ok Tai...but, what if he was evil?" she inquired

"Do you mean like a doppelganger?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, that's a tough one." Tai rubbed his chin with his fingers and skeptically looked up at the sky

"I don't know." he concluded

"Do you think it's possible to actually have one?" she asked

"No, I don't think so."

"I do."

Tai looked at her, a bit of surprise and confusion in his eyes. Out of everyone in the world, he never expected Sora to believe in evil twins. It kind of worried him.

"Enough talk. Let's eat!" he quickly changed the subject of evil twins which grew to be a bit unsettlingly for him

"What is it with you and food?" Sora rolled her eyes

"I don't know. Hey, ever wonder what its like to eat a raw egg?" he stood up

"Eat a raw egg?" she gave him a quizzical look

"Yeah, because the last one to reach the pizza shop has to eat one!" without hesitation he bolted out of the park

Still not registering what he meant, Sora watched him run

"Oh no you don't!" she sprang up and ran after him as fast as she could

TBC...


	3. Kitty lessons

**Kitty Lessons**

After hard deliberation and a couple of scratches, Ken managed to get the Sora look-alike to sit on a chair.

"_Hiss!_" she spat but Ken would not let frustration get the upper hand

Wormmon came into the room dragging a box behind him with a rope. He proceeded to the table in front of Ken and laid out a series of objects over the surface. There was a school uniform, a tennis racket, a digivice, and last but not least, a picture of the entire group of digidestined. Ken picked the school uniform up and walked over to the clone.

"Ok, let's begin. First thing's first." he handed her the clothes

She skeptically examined the garments he had given her.

"Put it on."

The imposter shrugged her shoulders and shamelessly began to undress herself. Dumfounded with her lack of shame and embarrassment, Wormmon turned his face to the wall and Ken turned his back; a crimson line of blush dashed over his face at the sight of her bare skin. After a minute or so, he turned to face her once more.

"This is a tennis racket; you play tennis." Ken lifted the racket and showed of its features

He demonstrated a couple of moves and explained to her the object of the game and how to play.

"This is your digivice. Your partner is Biyomon." He handed her the device and she willingly took it

"And these..." he lifted the picture to her gaze "are your friends."

"That's Cody, Yolie..." he named all of them by order of the picture

"This is Tai, your best friend, and this is Matt...I think you like him." Ken pointed at the rebellious blonde boy, not knowing that he had given her the wrong information; she likes Tai not Matt. (Sorry Sorato fans! I LOVE Sorato but I decided to write a Taiora for a change)

"Ok..." Ken sighed

He paced back and forth with his hand at his chin. He seemed to be stuck on a problem. He paced a couple of times more before he decided to just ask

"Can you talk?"

"Yes."

His raised his eyebrows in surprise but then smiled.

"Good, this makes things much easier."

"What are you going to call her master?" Wormmon spoke for the first time; his presence was almost forgotten

"Hmm.." Ken watched as the Sora look-alike rubbed her face with the back of her hand like a cat does when washing itself

"Kitty." he smiled

"Is she ready?"

"Well, yeah, why not? What else can you say about those stupid digidestined? Their lives are about as boring as watching re-runs on Sunday afternoons."

Kitty smiled at her new name and giggled at Ken's remark. He turned to her and put his hands on his hips.

"Why didn't you tell me you can talk?"

Kitty simply smirked and shrugged.

Ken sighed and moved on "You'll be going to school tomorrow; you go to Odaiba High. Here are your classes." he handed her a piece of paper with her schedule written down

"You'll be staying with me so after school come to my house." he gave her another piece of paper, this one with his address scribbled on.

"Don't do anything drastic yet, I want you to observe them, learn their ways, and then I'll tell you what to do."

Kitty nodded in agreement

"Kitty lessons." Wormmon smiled at his play on words

"Let's go." Ken ordered and they headed towards the portal of the real world

TBC...


	4. Wrong guy!

**Wrong guy!**

_Odaiba high..._

The hall ways were flooded with teenagers. Everyone was in a rush to get to class, but Tai, however, had his own problems. He was engaged in a battle with his locker.

"Stupid thing, open!" he banged on the lock

A familiar blue-eyed blonde was passing by, with his usual crowd of overzealous fan girls following behind. He spotted Tai and dismissed the girls with a wave of his hand. He then walked over to his friend.

"So how was that raw egg, Tai?"

Tai didn't have to look to know who it was; he knew the voice all too well. He let out a sigh and leaned his head on the locker.

"Sora told you about that?"

"Yes, and she wasn't modest with the details."

"What ever."

"Speaking of Sora..." Tai looked up to see Matt pointing to the end of the hall

"Here she comes." Matt smirked and Tai stiffened

"Hey Sora." Matt hollered but she didn't acknowledge him

This was in fact, the imposter; Kitty. It took a while for her to register his identity, but when she did, she put on a fake smile and walked over to them.

"Hi...uh...Matt." she stumbled with his name

"What's wrong Sora, did you forget my name? This is Tai in case you don't remember." Matt jokingly replied and pointed at Tai who seemed stunned by her presence

"Eh...I just have a lot on my mind, sorry." she sheepishly replied

"So, Sora, do you want to come over to my place? You said you'd help me with my homework...eh..." Tai put his hand on his head; it was obvious that he was nervous

"Um, actually, I have plans tonight."

"Oh, ok, then maybe tomorrow?"

"Sure." Kitty didn't even look at Tai through out the conversation; her eyes were locked on Matt

RING!

"Crap, that's the tardy bell! I can't be late again!" Tai sprinted down the hall and clumsily turned the corner; almost slipping due to the sharp turn

The hall way was now empty, except for Kitty and Matt.

"Are you doing anything later?" she asked

"Um, no, why?"

"I'd like to take you out."

Matt raised an eyebrow at her remark "I thought the guy was supposed to ask the girl out."

"Well, not this time. So do you want to go out with me?"

"Of course! Uh, I mean, sure." Matt tried to keep his cool, he's had a crush on Sora since the Digital World and this was the opportunity of a life time.

"Great, see you later." She smiled and walked away

Matt remained there for about a few more seconds before he jumped up in glee and ran to class.

_Lunch..._

Izzy and Sora sat a table on the left wing of the school yard. It was a little secluded from the rest of the tables but it was the perfect hide out for Matt to get away from his fan girls, and it was quiet enough for Izzy to work on his lap top. Sora took out her lunch bag and began to eat her home made lunch.

"Sora, why can't you just eat the food they give here in school?" Izzy sighed and took a spoon full of the mysterious slop they served every other day. He shoved the food in his mouth and scrunched his face in dislike.

"That's why." Sora giggled

Izzy practically chocked as he tried to spit out the mess they called "food." Sora was in the process of taking a bite out of her sandwich when she felt a whisper in her ear.

"Ready for tonight?" Matt came up from behind her

Sora could feel his hot breath dance across her skin and it made her blush. Matt sat next to her, pleased with is actions and the results he got from them. Sora forced the food down. Her face was covered in crumbs and she turned away to clean them off.

'How embarrassing! He must think I'm a pig! Wait...tonight? What about tonight?' she thought

"So, I'll pick you up at six?" Matt interrupted her thoughts

"Uh...what are we going to do?"

"What ever you want. We could just stay in my place if you want." Matt smirked and put his arm around her shoulder

"Uh..."

"Or your place is fine too."

"What are you talk-" Sora didn't finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Tai's childish screams. She looked over her shoulder to see him struggling to get through a crowd of girls.

"Get out of the way!"

"Have you seen Matt?" They would ask "Can you take us to him?" others would say

"No, leave me alone! Get away! Hey, whose hand is that!" Tai managed to get through. He reached the table and flopped down beside Sora.

"I'm exhausted!"

Sora giggled as Matt stood up.

"Sorry I can't hang out, I told the guys I'd meet them for lunch. We have to discuss our next gig."

Sora, Izzy, and Tai nodded understandingly. Matt grabbed his stuff but before he left, he leaned over to Sora and whispered in her ear

"I'll see you later." he gave her a sly smile and turned to leave

Sora was still completely confused, but she quickly dismissed Matt's odd behavior and turned to Tai

"If it's ok, Tai, I could come over today and help you with your homework."

Tai had already helped himself to her lunch. He turned to her with his mouth full; with a look like a deer caught in the head lights.

"What's wrong?"

Tai swallowed and narrowed his eyes

"I thought you were busy tonight." he told her

"I believe you have a date with Matt." Izzy intruded the conversation

"WHAT!" Tai exclaimed

"Well, I heard what he told her, like "I'll see you tonight"and I naturally assumed it was a date." he said

"Sora, is it true?" Tai looked at her with puppy eyes

"Uh..."

RING!

"Sorry, Tai gotta go!" Sora grabbed her things and ran off.

She didn't know why she was running; she didn't do anything wrong, but when Tai looks at her with those eyes, her heart breaks.

"What did I just get myself into?" she scolded herself

"I have to talk with Matt." she walked to her class which she conveniently had with the blonde

Not knowing how slow she had been walking, Sora got to class late. All eyes were on her when she entered the room. She blushed and hurriedly sat next to Matt.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Uh, Matt...about tonight."

"What about it? You don't want to go out with me?" He asked, he too, had a good puppy face

Sora didn't have the heart to turn him down so she made up an excuse. "I'd love to go out with you Matt; it's just that I just remembered that my mom wants me to help her out at the flower shop today."

"Oh, ok." he smiled

Sora sighed in relief but stiffened at his next question.

"How about tomorrow?"

"Uh...sure." She replied

Matt mumbled a low "yes!" under his breath and looked up at the board and began to copy the notes. Sora sank in her chair and sighed.

_Later that afternoon..._

DING-DONG!

"Tai could you get that please!" Kari shouted from the shower

DING-DONG!

"Tai!" Kari shouted; frustrated with her brother's slow reactions

"I'm going!" he shouted back

He slowly walked to the door and was surprised to see his visitor.

"Sora!"

"Hi."

"Weren't you going out with Matt?"

"Uh...something came up, are you going to let me in?"

Tai was still in shock and blankly stared at her "Yeah! Come in."

Sora walked in and set her books and bag down beside the couch.

"Let's get started." she said

Tai watched her and nodded; not saying a word.

_At Matt's apartment..._

DING-DONG!

Matt was currently in the shower when the door bell rang.

DING-DONG!

"Is that the bell?" he spoke to himself

DING-DONG!

"Crap!" he turned the water off and wrapped a towel around his waist

DING-DING!

"Coming!" he almost fell on the slippery surface of the floor

He ran to the door, trying to keep the towel in place.

"I'm coming." he said once more

He opened the door to see Kitty waiting on him

"Sora!" he was very surprised to see her

"I thought you were working at the shop." he ran his fingers through his wet hair

"Working?" She gave him a quizzical look; Ken had not told her about the flower shop

"Yeah, at your mom's flower shop." He looked at her suspiciously

"Oh, uh, I decided to surprise you instead!"

"Well, I'm surprised!" He tightly held on the towel around his waist

Kitty had not noticed that he was practically naked. She blushed at the sight of his wet body and turned away.

"Come in. Let me get dressed and then we'll do something." he ushered her inside and closed the door behind them.

TBC...


	5. Making out and spacing out

**Making out and spacing out**

Matt had just led Kitty into his apartment while he went inside his room to change; well actually, to put some clothes on, period! She sat on the large couch and waited.

"Man, what am I going to wear?" Matt frantically scattered through piles of clothes and trash in the ship wreck he calls his room

"Yes!" he settled on a black long-sleeve turtle neck and dark gray pants.

He quickly changed and took one last look in the mirror before he left.

"This is it."

Kitty had made herself comfortable and had sprawled herself across the couch like a cat would. She stretched her legs out and pawed at the cushions.

"_Prrr._"

"Sora?"

Kitty snapped back to reality once she heard her "name." Matt curiously walked over and sat next to her. The clock kept ticking away as they sat in silence.

"So..."

"Yes?" she leaned back on the couch and put her arm around Matt

She looked intensively into his eyes and then began to stretch. "I'm so tired!"

Teenage hormones got the better of Matt. He watched her with hungry eyes and she knew he wanted her. They shared a quick glance before they lunged at each other like hungry animals. They tossed and turned on the large sofa while inducing in a heavy make out session; it was a shame to break the kiss.

"May I?" Kitty pointed down the hall towards the bathroom

Matt nodded "Sure."

He watched her leave and once she was out of sight and hearing range, he jumped up and ran to the phone.

_Tai's apartment..._

"So, if x squared equals 25, then pi times x squared equals?" Sora sat on the floor; attempting to teach Tai some Algebra.

"Uh...100?"

"Tai, were you even listening to me before?"

"Of course I was!"

"Really, then what's pi?"

"A type of dessert?"

Sora slapped her forehead in frustration.

"Tai.." she began

"How do you expect me to teach you if you won't listen to me? If you're not even going to try and learn then why did you ask me to help you?"

"Uh...because I want to spend time with you, alone." Tai turned away and mumbled

Sora's glaring eyes softened upon hearing this. She sighed and sat closer to him.

"Did you really just ask me to hel- ahh!" Miko jumped on her lap; causing her to yelp in the middle of her sentence

"Bad cat!" Tai shooed Miko away

Sora giggled but Tai watched her with sad eyes.

"Sora I..." he began to say but couldn't seem to get the right words out of his mouth.

"I- RING!" he was interrupted by the phone

"Wait one second." he got up and ran to the phone

"Hello?"

"Tai!"

"Matt?"

"Yeah! Guess what I just did!"

"Uh...did you finally cut your hair?"

"No, never! And if anyone needs a haircut its you!"

"Whatever. So what happened? I'm kind of busy you know." Tai's replied; annoyance in his tone

"Is it important?" Matt apologetically asked

"Yeah, sort of." Tai turned his head and looked over at Sora who munched on some of the snacks they had bought for themselves before they began to study

"Sorry man, but this can't wait! I, Matt Ishida just made out with Sora Takenouchi!"

"WHAT?" Tai shouted into the receiver while Matt pulled away in annoyance on the other end of the line

"But Sora is right he-" Matt cursed and stopped Tai from finishing his sentence

"Crap!"

"Uh, I have to go." Matt lowered his voice as he heard the bathroom door open

"Bye!"

"Uh...bye." Tai bid farewell though Matt had already hung up

Still in disbelief, Tai absentmindedly put the phone down and walked back to the living room. Sora smiled upon his return but frowned at his blank expression.

"What happened?" she asked as Tai flopped himself on the sofa

"Tai, what's wrong?" Tai could hear Sora talking but he didn't know what she was saying. He just fixed his eyes on the wall; gaping at the unknown.

"Tai!" she shook his shoulder

"Matt called."

"And?"

"He said that you-"

RING!

"Hold on a second." Sora answered her cell phone

"Hello?...Hi mom...Yes I'm fine, I'm over at Tai's-no mom, we're just doing homework...Mom! We really are doing homework!...Whatever...What? Now?...Ok, I'll be right over...yeah I love you too, bye."

Sora put her phone away and turned to Tai who had completely spaced out.

"My mom wants me to help her at the flower shop."

Tai nodded, though he had not paid attention to a word Sora said.

"I'll talk to you later!" She shouted while she put her shoes on and walked out the door.

_Matt's apartment..._

Matt and Kitty had moved from the couch to the floor where they could move freely while making out without the fear of falling.

RING! Kitty's phone rang.

Matt hesitated to release her from the kiss; but the annoying ringer of her phone irritated him. She got off Matt and sat down on the couch; she didn't want Matt to see Ken's name on her screen.

"Hello?...Yes, sir...no I haven't...Now?...Ok, I'll be right over." she hung up and sadly looked down at Matt

"I have to go."

"Huh? Why?" he pouted

She couldn't think of an excuse and only stared at him. He got up, straightened his ruffled shirt and sat down next to her.

"Who was that?"

"Uh...my mom."

"Does she want you to help her at the flower shop?"

"Uh...yeah!"

"Well, ok." Matt leaned back and Kitty sighed in relief

She got up and walked down the hall; heading to the door. Matt's hand caught hers and caused her to stop.

"Talk to you later?" he had hope in his eyes

"Of course." she smiled and walked out

Matt leaned against the wall and smirked.

_Tai's apartment..._

It had not been no longer than 15 minutes since Sora had left to her mother's flower shop. Tai still sat dumbfounded on his couch until a screech from Miko broke his trance.

Meeoowww! Hiss!

"Huh?" Tai saw that Miko was on the window sill, hissing at a bird.

"Sora?" he stood up and examined the room. He noticed that her shoes were gone and concluded that she must have left.

"It can't be." he bitterly remembered the words that Matt had spoken

He quickly put on his shoes and ran out the door; heading to the flower shop.

_Matt's apartment..._

RING!

Matt lay on his bed when he heard the ringing of a phone.

RING!

'That can't be the phone.' he thought as he walked over to the phone that sat on a small table in the hall.

RING!

'It's not my cell phone.' he took his cell out of his pocket and saw that it was not ringing.

RING!

He checked under his bed but only found dirty clothes and dirty trays from food he had ordered days before. He checked his closet but was buried in a mountain of clothes that piled on him once he opened the door.

"Where is it coming from!" he whined

RING!

The ringing caught his attention and it seemed to be coming from the living room. He slowly walked down the hall until he reached the large room.

RING! He walked over to the source of his frustration

'Sora must have forgotten her phone.' he picked it up

"Ken Ichijouji?" he read the name on the screen

The phone stopped ringing while Matt stood in confusion.

"Don't jump to conclusions. Just go ask her about it." Matt told himself as he put on his shoes and jacket and headed out the door; his destination, the flower shop.

TBC...


	6. Broken hearts

**Broken hearts**

"Come on!" Sora impatiently waited for the light to turn green as she waited to cross the street.

She fidgeted on her feet and occasionally stood on her toes to peak at the lights through the crowd. Kitty was coincidently on the other side of the crosswalk; also waiting to cross. While on her toes, Sora caught a quick glance of her fiery red hair, but she dismissed it as the light turned green and permitted her and every one else to go on their way.

"Yes, finally." Sora sighed and crossed the street with quick short steps.

Kitty too crossed, but the crowd kept Sora out of view. They went their separate ways.

_"I, Matt Ishida, just made out with Sora Takenouchi!" _Matt's voice kept ringing in Tai's head as he ran through the crowd of people on the street, frantically searching for Sora.

He swiftly swerved and dodged the moving bodies, occasionally bumping into a person or two, followed by a rushed apology. The street lights turned on, it was getting dark. Tai continued his search until he reached an intercross and spotted Kitty on the other side of the street.

"Sora!" he shouted, cupping his hands over his mouth to make himself sound louder.

"Sora!" he hollered once more while walking in the same direction she was, but on the other side of the street.

Kitty didn't make an effort to acknowledge who was calling her. She was focused on her destination: Ken's house. Tai still followed and decided to cross the street and catch up to her.

"Hey kid, get of the road!" a frantic driver shook his fist out the window, yelling at Tai who scurried away.

"Sorry!" he yelled over his shoulder and not watching where he went, he tripped over a water hydrate.

He hit the floor with a heavy and hurtful thump. At least, he got to the other side! He picked himself up and clutched his stomach where the impact had injured him the most. He clumsily began to walk until the pain was no more and he was running once again.

Kitty continued to walk, ignoring everyone and everything; it was almost as if she had blinders on both sides of her eyes that shielded her from her surroundings and forced her to focus on her destination.

"Sora!" Tai shouted in frustration

"Jeez, is she deaf?" He took a short cut through the park which took him around the corner and conveniently in front of Kitty.

"I've been chasing you for like the last two blocks!" he spoke through heavy breaths as he clutched down and rested his hands on his knees.

He regained his posture and looked at Kitty who stared at him blankly.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked

Tai snorted at narrowed his eyes. "Don't act like you don't know me...I have to talk to you." He stepped closer to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Kitty winced at the touch and shrugged his hand away. "I have to go." she turned her heel to leave.

"Sora, wait!" Tai followed

"What do you want?" she asked as she took quick steps; trying to get away from her pursuer.

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"About you and Matt."

"What about us?"

"That you and him..." Tai didn't dare to finish his sentence

Already knowing what he was talking about, Kitty smirked and quirked her head to the side and looked at him. "Yeah, it's true."

Tai felt daggers pierce through his heart. His pace slowed down as if the pain was too much to bear. He felt a knot in his throat that prevented him from speaking correctly. He spoke in a low whisper, barely audible to Kitty's ears. "Why?"

"Because I like him." she replied with a confident air

"Since when?" his pain turned to anger and it gave him courage to speak up

"I've always liked him."

Tai had stopped walking and stared at her departing figure. Kitty noticed that he was no longer following her so she too stopped and turned around to face him.

The sky was now a pool of darkness; night had arrived. Tai stood under a light pole where the light shown down on him as if he were the only one. His head was down which caused his bushy hair to cast a dark shadow over his eyes. Kitty walked towards him.

"What did you expect Tai? You didn't think I liked _you_ did you?" she mocked

"Yes, as a matter of...you know what, forget it." he glared at her and walked away

Stunned by his look, Kitty stood alone, repenting what she had just done. She slowly turned away and kept walking.

Matt found himself running through alleys, taking any short cut possible that would get him to the flower shop and Sora as fast as it can. He clutched the forgotten cell phone in one hand as he grazed the side of a building with the other as he took a sharp turn around a corner. He then collided with a girl and took her fragile body down with him.

"Ow!...watch where you're going!" the girl shouted while struggling to recover her posture from under Matt's sturdy body.

Her voice sounded familiar. Found her!

"Sora!" Matt lifted himself up while positioning each of his hands at Sora's sides, as if trapping her.

"Yes, it's me." she squinted "Can you get off me now?" she looked up at him

They both got up and dusted themselves up, neither of them knowing what to say.

"Uh...oh yeah, you forgot this at my place." Matt handed Sora the phone

Sora examined the foreign object and rejected it. "This isn't mine."

"Yeah, it is, and why was Ken calling you?" Matt handed her the phone once more and spoke to her in a sort of demanding voice

"Ken? What are you talking about?" Sora mused

Matt squinted his eyes and skeptically looked at her. "Aren't you supposed to be at your mom's flower shop?"

"I was on my way when you literately crashed into me." she replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice

"It took a little while; I just came from Tai's place right now."

Matt raised a golden eyebrow. "Why were you there?"

"He needed help with his homework."

"Was he the one who called you? You left my place to go to his?" Matt fired questions at Sora

"What are you talking about? I spent the whole afternoon with Tai."

Matt's jaw dropped, had the kissing meant nothing to her? He grabbed her shoulders and brought her into a passionate kiss. Sora's eyes widened in surprise. She struggled a bit but her fidgeting only made the kiss stronger and deeper; there was no other option but to kiss back.

After a couple of seconds, his lips departed hers. "Do you remember that?" he smirked

Sora was as red as a tomato! She didn't know what to say and her next movement was just as shocking as the kiss.

SLAP!

Her hand made hot contact with Matt's cheek. "How dare you!" she exclaimed

"I thought you liked me." he caressed the sore spot on his face

"I like Tai!" and with that she ran away

"But I thought..." he mumbled

He watched her run until he could see her no more. Noticing he still had the phone, he pocketed it and walked home with silent tears trickiling down his cheeks.

TBC...


	7. Friends?

**Friends?**

"Where have you been?" Ken scolded Kitty for her tardiness.

"I was with Matt."

"Why were you with him?"

"Well, I thought you said I'm supposed to like him."

"...ok, but don't do anything drastic." Ken sat on his bed watching her

"Uh, I ran into Tai on my way..." she began a little uneasy

"And?"

"Well, I think I broke his heart." she finished quickly and shut her eyes, expecting another lecture, but instead, she heard laughter.

"That's brilliant!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!" He stood up and paced around his spotless room

"You'll break them apart and ruin their friendship." he snapped his fingers

The faint hooting of an owl from outside reminded them that night was upon them. Ken walked out of the room and came back in with a couple of blankets in his hands.

"Take my bed. Wormmon and I will sleep on the floor."

Kitty nodded and climbed in bed; not bothering to change her clothes. The only goodnight was bid by Wormmon but was received by darkness and silence.

_Next morning..._

Rays of sunlight peered through the curtains of Tai's bedroom. The warmth enveloped him; telling him to get up. His wakening eyes squinted at the light and he buried his face in his covers.

"Time to wake up." an unidentified voice sang

"Wake up or you'll be late for school."

Tai grunted and forcibly picked himself up. His disoriented vision caused him to see everything in a blur. The sight of brown, pink, and yellow straighten to reveal Kari standing before him.

"Your eyes are red." she lifted one of his eye lids as he shrugged her hand away

He got up and headed to the bathroom. "Leave me alone." he coldly replied over his shoulder

Kari watched the door close and leaned against it; arms folded across her chest and her leg against the door "What's wrong?" she questioned

"I said leave me alone!" the running water muffled his voice

"Is it about Sora?" she straightened up as the door opened and Tai stepped out while drying his face with a towel

"Shut up." he rudely commanded while glaring at her as he passed by

The tension was too much and Kari quickly exited the room. Tai stood still, listening to her footsteps, fading away with each step. His eyes examined the room. Trash, a broken clock, and a couple of shattered picture frames from the night before when he had been so furious with Sora and Matt that he trashed his room were scattered around the floor. He walked to his closet and in the process, he stepped on a broken frame with a scrunched up photograph next to it. He bent over and picked it up. It was a picture of Sora wearing the hair clip he had given her for her birthday. (Yes, the infamous hair clip of the Digimon movie that led everyone to believe that Sora liked Tai) Tai's lips curved into a sad smile.

"Tai, you're going to be late for school!" a voice came from the kitchen, his mother's.

Tai changed into his school uniform, grabbed his backpack and headed out the door. "Bye mom!"

"I'll see you later!" Tai heard a soft voice through the corridors of the apartment building.

Not wanting to walk with her to school, nor talk to her, or even meet her gaze, Tai ran to the elevator and immediately press the button to close the doors. Sora spotted him and ran to the lift.

"Tai, wait!" she pleaded as the doors closed, concealing Tai's cold stare.

Confused, Sora took the stairs to catch up with Tai at the bottom.

When she reached the ground floor, she noticed that no one was in the lift. She walked a couple steps more and spotted Tai turning the corner.

"Tai!" she scurried

"Tai, please..." she caught up to him and tugged his arm

"What's wr-" She froze when Tai quickly spun around with cold eyes that shot daggers through her heart

"What!" he shouted

"Why are you ignoring me?"

"Do me a favor and don't talk to me. Don't talk to me, don't even look at me...we're no longer friends."

"What?"

"You heard me! Now get out of my way, I see your boyfriend coming and I don't want to be here to witness all your lovey-dovey crap." he shoved past her and kept walking to school.

"My boyfriend?" she turned to see Matt walking up the street

"Hey." she tried to befriend him as he passed by

He didn't bother to look at her. He kept on walking, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a guitar case.

"Matt!" Sora shouted and Matt stopped walking

It seemed as though he was going to turn back and speak to her, but instead he bent over and picked up a piece of paper her had dropped. He then regained his posture and kept walking without looking back.

"What did I do?" Sora cried

At school, Tai and Matt managed to ignore Sora. At lunch they were no where to be seen. She searched the cafeteria. Nothing. She walked through the foot ball field and the basketball and tennis courts. Nothing. The music room, the soccer field. Nothing.

"Where could they be!" she gritted her teeth

She spotted Izzy in the crowd and ran to him. "Izzy! Have you seen Matt or Tai?"

Izzy heard her but tried to suppress it and kept on walking.

"Izzy, come on, I know you heard me." Sora pulled him out of the crowd

She looked at him with pleading eyes and he felt pity. "Sorry Sora, I'm not supposed to be talking to you." He sheepishly replied

"Huh? Why not?"

"What did I do?"

"I don't know but from the way Tai was acting, it's pretty bad."

"You spoke to Tai?"

"Yeah, he said something about you guys not being friends anymore and that I'm not suppose to talk to you."

"What about Matt? Have you seen or-" Sora was interrupted by hollering and cheers from a crowd that had formed in the courtyard.

Izzy and Sora made their way through. The source of attention: a fight between Matt and Tai.

"FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!" Chanting filled the cafeteria and didn't cease to stop

Matt got a couple of good punches and a tackle before Sora came. "Stop!" she shouted

Matt and Tai in a head lock when they stopped and looked up. Matt seemed to loosen his grip on Tai's neck and his eyes softened as he caught Sora's sight. Tai noticed the look they shared and felt a twinge of anger and jealousy pierce through him. He gathered his strength and took the opportunity to knock Matt down and began to punch him with burning rage.

"Stop! Please stop!" Sora grabbed Tai's arm

He growled at her touch and pushed her hard enough to knock her from her feet. Every one fell silent as she hit the floor; time stopped. A small cry was heard from the red-head. She held her right arm close to her chest as she tried to get up.

Izzy was the only one who stepped forward to help her up. "Your arm?" he touched it lightly.

Sora nodded through a pained expression. They walked down the hall heading to the nurses' office as the crowd cleared a path for them.

Tai watched them retreat. He felt a wave of guilt overpower his anger and his eyes watered. Still under him, Matt squirmed and violently pushed Tai off of him. He wiped the blood that trickled from his lip and walked away. The crowd began to scatter and then it disappeared. The only one left was Tai. Still on the floor, he watched the hall into which Sora and Izzy had disappeared through.

TBC...


	8. Night out

**A night out and more complications**

6:00 pm-The rustling of the leaves caused by the violent winds prior to the storm to come brushed against Tai's window, making scratching noises as if there were a creature outside trying to get in. Tai lay carelessly on his bed; his right arm above his head, his left settled on his stomach and his left leg dangling off the edge of his bed. His eyes were tired and puffed due to hours of crying. But for now, he lay sound asleep where he drifted away from his problems.

11:30 pm the digital clock on the night stand read. Its glowing red numbers were the only thing visible through the darkness of the room. Having not moved from his position, Tai began to rustle between his bed sheets.

_Meow_. A muffled cry made his ears perk. _Meow_, it mocked once more.

"Meeko?" Tai lifted his head and examined the room.

Silence and nothing more.

"Meeko?" Tai stood up and cautiously stepped on the floor, careful not to step or bump into anything.

Outside, the wind hollered and the leaves whispered, calling him over. Fixated on the window, Tai slowly walked towards it and pocked his head outside. The stars and moon twinkled; the world seemed to be asleep. Tai's eyes wandered, taking in the scenery of nightfall until he lowered his gaze to the ground where a lone figure stood. To his surprise, Kitty stood there, watching him. A mischievous smile crept along her face as she looked up at him.

"Sora?" Tai gasped

Kitty's eyes stalked Tai's every move. Moments later, she broke her gaze and began to walk away. "Where is she going?" Tai practically ran out his room, but quietly put on his shoes and sweater and exited his apartment.

He flew down the stairs and while maintaining shadow distance, he took the same route Kitty took. With his head down and shoulders bent so as to not let the cold wind whisper down his neck, Tai lost sight of Kitty at the park. "Where'd she go?"

He checked out the swings, the benches, and even the tree that he had carved his and Sora's names into, but found nothing.

Somewhere in the distance, movement came from the bushes. The rustling became more aggressive as Tai drew closer. "Sora?" He bent over and peered into the bush.

_"Meow!"_ A screech followed by repeated scratches was heard through out the park. Tai danced around as if he were drunk with a cat on his face. "Ow, get off!"

_Hmph! _Tai fell right on his bottom. Once at ground level, the cat removed its claws from Tai's face and fled. Tao watched it run while touching his fresh wounds. "Stupid cat."

He sat on the grass for a moment, when he noticed two glowing red eyes in the shadows of a tree. "What is she doing here?" Tai stood up.

The figure hissed and its red eyes narrowed. "Sora?"

As he walked closer, footsteps were heard behind him. They were heavy and moved fast. As Tai turned to face the new visitor, he was greeted by a bat. Wham! A hard blow to the head and Tai was down. Dumbfounded by the pain, Tai looked up to see two blurs over him that seemed to be Ken and Kitty. Ken dropped the bat beside Tai and looked over at Kitty...

7:00 am

"Time to wake up!" A cheerful voice rang through Tai's ears.

"Kari? What time is-whoa!" Tai attempted to get out of bed but was paralyzed by the shocking pain that ran from his head down his back.

Kari took notice of the scratches and the way he rubbed his head. "What happened?" She sat down next to him.

"I don't..." Tai looked at the floor, trying to recollect the events of the night before.

Why was Sora with Ken? How did he get back to his room? Maybe it was just a dream.

"Sora..." he whispered

Kari's eyes widened. "Sora did this to you?" she touched the dry blood on his wounds.

Tai looked at his sister with confusion.

"Tai, Kari, hurry up or you'll both be late for school!" their mother's voice echoed through the apartment.

Tai and Kari looked at the door and then at each other. "Come on, you heard her." Tai got up and walked to the bathroom to change. Kati watched him disappear behind the door and then got up and left.

_Odaiba high..._

Once surrounded by treasured friends, Tai now walked alone through the hallways of the large school. Dragging his body, Tai made his way to his locker where he would find relief from the pills he had taken from the kitchen cabinet to numb the pain in his head that was still persistent from the night before. After swallowing a pill or two and having drunk from the water fountain, Tai heard a fragile voice around the corner.

"Ugh...ow!" Tai peered around the corner and saw Sora fumbling with her books, trying to fit them in her locker. "Crap!" she dropped her Calculus book.

As she bent over to pick it up, Tai noticed that her right hand was bandaged up. 'She didn't have that last night.'

He had not known how long he had been staring at her and now she was walking in his direction. Due to her disabled hand, she had to hold her massive text books with her left arm. Almost at the corner, she dropped a book and tripped over it. As she leaned forward, Tai gracefully caught her. They looked at each other, not knowing what to say or do.

Sora gritted her teeth, trying to resist the pain Tai's hold inflicted on her fractured hand. He noticed her pained expression and immediately let her go. They went their separate ways, the bittersweet moment they just shared, long forgotten.

In the courtyard, Matt sat alone under a tree. His once overzealous fans were no where to be seen after Matt had rudely shouted at them and told them to get lost and not in those words.

The cut at the corner of his mouth prevented him from enjoying his lunch. After a couple of attempts, Matt discarded his meal and watched the world, lifelessly, as it unraveled itself before his eyes.

"Hey Matt." Izzy made his way to his friend

"What do you want?"

"I want to know what happened."

"Why don't you ask _Tai_?" Matt retorted and bitterly spat his former best friend's name out

"He won't tell me anything! He said to ask Sora, but I haven't seen her around. So, mind telling me what's going on?"

Matt looked up at his friend and lifted himself to his feet. "Forget about it, it's not worth talking about it." he began to walk away.

_Sora's apartment..._

RING! Sora sat at her desk, doing her homework, when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Sora, its Kari."

"Hey Kari, is there something wrong?"

"That's what I want to know. Can you come over?"

"Um, is Tai there?"

"No."

A small sigh of relief was heard on the other line. "Ok, I'll be over in 5 minutes."

"Thanks, bye."

"Bye."

Kari placed the phone back on the receiver and turned to T.K who sat on the couch, flipping through the channels, trying to find something worth watching.

"Are you sure you're not just overreacting Kari?" he spoke

"No, something's wrong, I know it."

"Do you think Matt knows something?"

"Maybe. I'll ask Sora when she gets here."

RING! They turned their attention to the phone. RING! Kari read the name on the caller I.D "Davis..." she let out an exasperated sigh.

"Hey Davis...I have caller I.D...I was just talking to T.K...yes, he's here...No Davis, we were just talking...No! There's no need for you to come over...Davis, I mean it!...Ok, I'll see you tomorrow...Bye." she sighed

DING-DONG! "Could you get that T.K?"

T.K walked to the door and cautiously opened it, afraid of Davis being their new visitor. His eyes peered outside. Sora nervously stood outside and when she saw T.K's soft eyes she couldn't help but think that they look so much like Matt's cobalt ones and she froze.

"Oh, hi Sora!" T.K fully opened the door. "I thought you were Davis." he ushered her inside.

"Are you sure Tai's not here?" Sora examined the room

"He's at soccer practice." Kari skeptically answered. "What's going on between you and my brother?"

"Well, he's not talking to me."

"Did you do something to make him this upset?"

T.K quietly sat on the couch and resumed his activity of channel surfing while Kari and Sora talked.

"That's just it, I don't know! One day we were friends and then the other he doesn't even want to look at me." Sora flopped back on the sofa.

Kari stood silent, pondering about the situation when Sora spoke again. "And then the other day, he and Matt had a fight in school."

"Whoa, wait a minute!" T.K interrupted "Matt's involved too?"

"He's not talking to me either, but I think I know why."

Kari and T.K looked at her, waiting for her to preach her story.

"The other day he was acting odd. He was asking me if "the night" at his apartment meant nothing to me and he kept trying to give me a cell phone that he claimed to be mine and that I had left it at his place that night." Kari and T.K focused on her every word.

"He said that I had told him that I liked him and then he kissed me!" The eyes of the younger children widened with surprise

"Shocked by his behavior, I slapped him. I told him I like Tai and the next day they fought in the cafeteria."

"That must be why Matt had that cut on his lip." T.K concluded

"I tried to stop them, but Tai pushed me, causing me to fall." Sora rolled her sleeve up, revealing her bandaged hand. "I fell on my hand and fractured my wrist.

"I still don't understand why Tai is mad at you." Kari spoke up.

Sora was about to answer when the clicking of the door opening and closing was heard. "I'm home!" Tai made his presence known.

Kari looked at Sora who looked over at T.K who watched the doorway, waiting for Tai to enter the room.

"What's going on?" Tai asked, his soft gazed turning into a rough glare when he spotted Sora. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh.."

"I invited her." Kari answered for her friend

"Yeah? Well, tell her to get out."

"Come on Tai, leave her alone." T.K defended Sora

"I don't want you here either!" Tai pointed at T.K "I want you both out! And you better check that stupid brother of yours. Tell him to fuck off and stay away from me or I'll kick his sorry ass again."

T.K pushed Tai. "Don't ever talk about my brother that way!"

"Or what? What are you going to do about it?" Tai pushed back

"What the hell is your problem?"

"Tai, please..."

"No Kari! I don't want you talking to these losers."

"Go fuck yourself Tai." T.K spat. He turned to Sora and led her out the apartment.

Tai retreated his defenses and locked himself in his room. Kari sat worriedly alone in on the couch.

TBC...


	9. Replacement

**Replacement**

_Odaiba junior high..._

The classroom was filled with the buzz of talking kids. T.K sat alone in the back, disposing of old papers as he emptied out his backpack of unwanted cargo. This week's gossip: the broken friendship between him and Kari.

"I heard he and Kari broke up."

"They weren't even together!"

"Well, I just know that they're no longer friends." T.K ignored the whispers. He did, however, get annoyed by all the ogling eyes that stared at him, watching his every move.

"What are you all looking at?" T.K's outburst startled the class. Everyone became silent and only footsteps were heard.

"What did you do to Kari T.K?" Yolie made her way through the crowd and slammed her hands on T.K's desk.

T.K kept his cool and replied in a flat tone. "Nothing."

"Then why was she crying?"

"She was crying?" T.K took sudden interest

"Yeah, she said something about you and a fight and...wait, don't change the subject! So what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything to her! It's Tai who I have a problem with."

"Tai?"

"Yeah, we got into a fight yesterday."

"Are you hurt?"

"No, it was more verbally."

"What about?"

"He was speaking ill of Matt and he even threatened me!"

"Oh my.."

"And he told me to stay away from Kari! He's forbidding her to socialize with me, Sora, or Matt."

"Sora and Matt? What do they have to do with this?" Cody popped up from behind Yolie; having listened to their conversation as he made his way to his desk.

"I don't know..." T.K looked at his desk as he pondered about the situation and Yolie and Cody just looked at each other and shrugged.

"Don't worry about it T.K." Yolie put her hand on his shoulder "We'll figure this out; everything is going to be ok."

"Thanks, Yolie."

RING! The alarming bell silenced the chattering. Everyone turned to look at it and then sat on their desks, waiting for their teacher to arrive.

_Odaiba high- after school..._

Having good grades and a good reputation among the teachers really paid off when you needed something. After having asked if they could use the music room, Matt and his band sat alone in the room, practicing for their upcoming gig. Well, if you could call it "practicing." They were mostly just goofing off and eating junk food.

"Hey guys check this out." Matt grabbed his friends' attention by putting fries up his nose; one in each nostril.

His friends burst out laughing at the sight, but grew quiet and weary as they noticed their intruder. Matt still chuckled as he turned around to see what his friends were looking at. Kitty stood at the entrance of the room, giving an uncertain smile.

"Uh, I'll handle this." Matt whispered to his friends as he disposed of the soiled fries and fixed his hair and smoothed out his wrinkled shirt.

He walked over to Kitty, grabbing her by the arm and leading her outside.

"What's wrong?" She asked as he abruptly let go of her arm as if it burned him.

"What do you want?" His cobalt azure eyes glared at her.

"I wanted to see you."

"Why, so you can slap me again?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me."

"Matt, I seriously don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah right. Don't play games; I don't want to have anything to do with you." Matt turned in disgust, ready to leave when he remembered something. "Here, take it, I don't want it." he threw her the phone and walked away

Kitty furrowed her eyebrows in anger and left. 'Ken's not going to like this.'

_Ken's house..._

Wormmon sat helplessly on Ken's bed as he lectured Kitty.

"How could you screw this up?" he shouted at her. "They're supposed to be against each other, not against you!"

"Sorry, I don't know what happened." Kitty repented her mistakes

Ken was about to respond, but then stopped to think. "I think we have to get rid of her."

Both Kitty and Wormmon looked up in surprise and fear. "Get rid of her?" Kitty asked

"Yes, she's messing this up." Ken sat on his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "I want you to bring her to me, then I'll deal with her." he smirked.

_The next day- Odaiba high, after school..._

Tai had just been dismissed from soccer practice after picking a fight with the referee; he furiously exited the field. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" he mumbled under his breath.

Without notice, he walked in on the tennis courts, which were surprisingly empty. He paced around, examining the courts when he noticed a lone figure in the distance. It was her.

Tai curiously and silently made his way through the bushes and got closer to the girl. "What is she doing?" he saw her walking through a court; fiddling with the net. It had been days since she had played; her hand was still injured.

He watched her with sorrow, guilt, and longing. How he wanted to run to her and hug her. To feel her warmth, smell her scent, and hear the soothing lullaby of her delicate voice. Lost in a pool of emotions, Tai didn't notice when Sora was out of sight. He stood up and walked around; searching for her.

Sora had been lured by the sound of a crying cat. It seemed to be coming from inside the school; in the girl's locker room. She followed the whimpers and searched for the creature through the sea of lockers. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty."

Tai listened to her callings from outside the door. He smiled at her concern for the lost cat. Suddenly, a loud screech was heard followed by a loud and hard thump of a falling body. Tai's ears perked up and without hesitation, he entered the locker room, searching for Sora.

"Sora?" he whispered, trying not to be caught if in the case there were girls in there.

"Sora, can you hear me?" he walked from isle to isle

A small cry of pain echoed through out the room, coming from an unknown place due to its resonating sound. The cry was then followed by muffled screams and curses and ended with another cry of pain. Silence permeated the room.

"Sora?" Tai now frantically ran around the room.

He stopped between two isles of lockers where he noticed a rope that was slightly tainted with blood on the tip. He observed the object when he heard the door opening. He ran to it and caught a glimpse of what appeared to be Sora. Confused, Tai observed the rope once more when he heard the door open once more and laughter of two unknown girls was heard. "Crap!"

Tai silently dodged the girls and quickly exited through the back door. Outside, Sora was no where to be seen. It was as if she had vanished from the face of the earth.

_Ken's house..._

"Here she is." Kitty carelessly shoved Sora into Ken's room, causing her to fall on the floor.

"Did my parents see you?"

"Your dad was sleeping on the couch so he didn't hear me come in and your mom was too busy washing the dishes."

"Good."

"What are you going to do with her master?"

"I'm taking her to the digital world."

"Why there?"

"Because no one will look for her there."

Sora's eyes widened in horror. Is this really happening? Wormmon had a grave expression on his face; he seemed to feel sympathy for the girl.

Ken picked Sora up by the hair and secured tape over her mouth so she wouldn't scream. "Let's go." he looked at Kitty

"Wormmon, stay here and stall in case my parents come looking for me."

Wormmon nodded at his orders and watched Ken and Kitty take their prisoner through the screen of the computer; taking her and locking her away so she can be replaced by her Doppelganger, Kitty.

TBC...


	10. Prisoner

**Prisoner**

"Help..." a blood curdling cry resonated through a dark building with empty cells. "Help!...Someone...please, help." Sora quit screaming due to the pain of her dry and soar throat, and let her body fall to the ground.

"There's no use in calling for help." Ken spoke from the other side of the bars. "No one will ever find you." The darkness of the room hid Ken's face from view, but the dim light coming from a small hole in the cell highlighted his mouth and revealed his devilish smile.

His malevolent smirk made Sora's stomach churn. Filled with rage, she got up and began to kick the bars. Ken stepped back as she stuck her arm out through the bars in an attempt to grab him, but as she retreated it, he grabbed it and pulled her towards him, causing her to make hard contact with the metal poles. Dazed and dumbfounded by the hit, Sora stood 3 centimeters from Ken's face, but it sounded like he was miles away. "You're never going to see daylight again." He whispered and pushed her back in the cell. Sora fell on her back and blacked out as she heard foot steps fading away.

_Tai's apartment..._

Tai sat on his bed with the tainted rope in his hands.

The door slowly opened as Kari pocked her head in. "Tai?"

"Yeah, Kari?"

Kari stepped in and quietly closed the door behind her. "What are you holding?" She spotted the object in his hands

"Some rope." Kari now sat next to him

"What's that?" She touched the dry blood

"Sora's blood."

Kari eyes widened as she quickly let go of the rope. "Blood?" she gasped and Tai nodded

"How do you know its Sora's blood?"

"I don't know...I just do."

Kari furrowed her eyebrows and built up the courage to ask the question that started this whole mess. "What happened between you and her?"

"...She broke my heart."

"Is that all?"

"No, but that's all I'm going to say."

"And what about Matt?"

Tai turned to face his sister. His watery eyes told a million words; she already knew and understood. "Now what?" She spoke

"I don't know."

"Get some rest." She patted his hand and walked out of the room.

Tai stared at the rope for a couple of seconds more before he put it under his bed and hopped on to bed, turned off the lights, and fell asleep.

_In the Digital World..._

Darkness permeated Sora's cell as it did her soul. Not knowing what time or day it was, Sora desperately jumped up to catch glimpses of the outside from a small hole on the wall to get her bearings straight. Unfortunately, the hole was too small and far up for her to get a good view. Time, and date were not factors in the cramped cubicle that is her prison.

Hopeless, Sora leaned her body against the wall and slid down to the floor. Tears of fear streamed down her face and stained her already soiled school uniform. Out of everything and everyone in the world, there was only one person she could think of. "Tai..." she whispered as she drifted into sleep.

_Odaiba High..._

Tai walked down the streets of Odaiba heading towards school when he heard a familiar voice coming from across the street. He stopped and looked to the other side and noticed Kitty talking in her cell phone under a tree. He quickly crossed the street and crept near the tree to eavesdrop on her conversation.

"Yes master...I snuck in this morning so her mother wouldn't suspect a thing...he still won't talk to me...yes...yes...no, I haven't tried talking to Tai...ok...yes master...bye." Kitty hung up, put her phone away, and began to walk, but as she took a step, she bumped into Tai.

"Who are you?" He narrowed his eyes

"What? Are you ok, Tai?"

"Don't play games with me." He slowly walked towards her as she stepped back.

"Tai, it's me, Sora." she nervously replied.

"No you're not."

"Tai, you're scaring me." she was pinned to the tree.

"Where is she!" he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her further into the tree.

Kitty hissed and struck Tai in the face with her claws. "Get away from me!"

Tai stepped back and touched the fresh wound on his cheek. With a malevolent smile, Kitty spoke. "She's Ken's prisoner now and you'll never find her. Just as well, no one will believe you as long as I'm here to take her place." She laughed and ran away.

Tai watched her run, speechless. She was right, no one would believe him. "Sora..." he whispered.


	11. Rescue?

**Rescue?**

"Sora has a twin?" Davis exclaimed, jumping down from the table which he was previously sitting on.

All the digidestined were called on an emergency meeting ordered by Tai to discuss the situation of Sora's clone. Tai had just finished explaining to the others about his run in with her evil twin when Davis interrupted and shouted in disbelief.

"Not a twin, a clone." Tai snapped.

"An evil clone." Davis wondered in awe.

"A doppelganger." T.K corrected

"This is ridiculous!" Matt shouted from the back.

Tai sighed. "I don't want to fight anymore Matt. All our problems were caused by that clone! We shouldn't be fighting each other; we should fight against that evil doppelganger, together." He looked around the room at all the skeptical faces looking back at him. "You guys do believe me, right?"

There was silence until Davis spoke up. "I believe you Tai!"

Still not entirely convinced, Matt retorted. "Why should I listen you?" He glared at Tai who only looked back with sympathetic eyes.

Matt gave in and retorted. "I'll fight, but not with you." He stepped into the middle of the group and spoke. "I suggest we split into two teams. One will be lead by me and the other." He quirked his head to the side. "By Tai."

"Sounds like a good idea." Yolie replied. "Everybody split up!" She announced.

Everyone scattered around for about a minute or two and lined up behind their leader. Tai's group consisted of Kari, Davis, and Izzy where as Matt's held T.K, Yolie, and Cody.

"What's the plan?" Cody inquired.

"We invade Ken's base." Tai answered.

Every one nodded in agreement and lined up in front of the computer, each awaiting their turn to enter the Digital World. They found themselves in a desert-like region of the Digiworld where they met up with their partners. After filling the digimon in on the details of the rescue; Tai's group went east in search of Ken's base while Matt's group went west.

Hours passed and neither group had any luck in locating the base. All the flying digimon in Tai's group circled the area when Tentomon spotted an odd-shaped building not far off.

"Let's go!" Tai ordered and everyone ran into the direction Tentomon had pointed to.

Within minutes, Tai and his group were standing outside Ken's base, now to find an entrance. Kari noticed a small door on the side and motioned everyone to follow her. Once inside, everyone split into different directions searching for Sora and at the same time, being aware that they don't get caught. Tai and Agumon walked down the longest and darkest corridor of the building; something good was sure to be at the end and there was! Deep in the center of the complex stood a series of cells, one being occupied by Sora.

Tai looked into every cell and gasped at the last one. "Sora!"

She was laying on her side, her red locks spread across her face and her arms crossed over her chest tugging at her arms as if hugging herself. Her uniform was dirty and torn and her eyes swelled up from so much crying. But even in all that filth, Tai found her beautiful. She seemed to be sleeping for she paid no attention to Tai's callings.

Tai jingled the lock on the door. "It's locked." he sighed in frustration.

"Leave it to me." Agumon announce and unlocked the device with one of his long sharp claws.

Tai slowly opened the cell door, careful not to make so much noise. He crept inside and looked back. "Agumon, go keep watch while I get her out."

"Sure, Tai!" The orange little creature waddled his way to the mouth of the corridor.

"Sora?" Tai nudged her lightly. "Sora wake up." He whispered.

Sora, however, remained in her position, not giving any signs that she was awake or aware of Tai's presence. Tai shook her a couple of times more before he gave up and picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. Stumbling, he called out to his friend.

"Agumon!" He shouted. "Come open the door for me!"

The little digimon didn't come.

"Agumon!" Tai hissed but received no response.

Frustrated, he put Sora back down and turned to open the door only to find that it was locked.

"What?" He shook the bars.

A tall figure appeared from the shadows and laughter echoed through out the room. Ken stood before Tai, dangling the key to the lock with his finger.

"Nice of you to drop by." He smirked.

"Agumon!" Tai frantically called out for help.

"You're little friend is out for the moment." Ken stepped aside and behind him was the body of the little creature subdued by a tranquilizer.

Tai furiously banged and kicked the bars. "Let me out!"

"I don't think so; this is way too much fun. Let's see if I can catch your other friends too." Ken mocked and left, dragging Agumon by the tail.

"Ken! Get back here!" Tai shouted and caused Sora to wake up.

"Tai?" She mumbled.

Tai stopped and knelt down beside her. "Sora, are you ok?"

"I think so. What are you doing here?" her eyes fluttered, trying to focus her vision.

"Eh, I'm here to rescue you?" He mumbled and got up to try and unlock the door. 'Crap, how am I going to get out of this one?' He thought to himself.


	12. Escape

**Escape**

Drip, drip, drip. Water droplets fell from an unknown source within the complex. Drip, drip, drip. Their fall creating an echo that resonated through out, making it hard to pin point their exact location. Drip, drip, drip. Their nonchalant tempo getting on Tai's nerves. Drip, drip, drip. His temper is growing and he's loosing his patience. Drip, drip, drip. He's slowly loosing his mind.

Drip, drip, drip...

"Where the hell is that coming from?" Tai snapped.

Getting up and kicking the bars, he began to shout. "Ken!" He kicks harder. "Let us out you coward!"

"Tai..." Sora sighed, annoyed by her friend's hopelessness. "There's no use."

Tai slumped down next to her, groaning. Making the most of their situation, he took out his D-Terminal and began to play Tetris.

Shocked, Sora pushed Tai. "You've had your D-Terminal all this time?" she accused.

"Ow!" Tai rubbed his shoulder. "Yeah, why?"

"Why?" Sora couldn't believe her friend's ignorance. "We can call for help, that's why!"

"You're right!" Tai closed the game and began to write a message of distress when suddenly the device shut off.

"Eh.."

"What happened?" Sora peeked over Tai's shoulder.

"The battery's out."

"Ugh, it must have been because of your stupid game!" Sora accusingly glared at him.

"It was only one game!" Tai countered.

"Yeah, but knowing you, the battery must have been already low." Sora stepped up to Tai who backed up in return. "And you sucked the remaining juice to entertain yourself!" She pinned him to the wall.

"It's not my fault!"

"Yes it is, how could it not be your fault?"

Defeated, Tai pouted but his frown soon turned into a grin; an idea had struck him. "It's ok! If we leave it off for a couple of minutes we can turn it on for a while; long enough for us to send a message."

Sora's eyes brightened with delight. "You're right!" A joyful smile grazed her face and made Tai blush.

A wave of nostalgia overwhelmed Tai. Bowing his head, he mumbled a barely audible apology. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For ignoring you, for all the fighting." He looked had her hand which was still bandaged up. "For hurting you."

"Oh...it's ok."

"No it's not ok!" I want to make it up to you."

"How about a kiss?"

Tai quirked his head in confusion and with out another word, Sora stood on her toes and gave him a small peck on the lips. Blushing like crazy, Tai stammered a nervous laugh; his odd behavior making Sora giggle.

_**Meanwhile...**_

"Matt, everyone's tired." T.K informed his brother who had them searching non-stop for hours, looking for Ken's base.

"So?" Matt retorted, looking straight ahead as he lead the way.

"So, let's take a break."

Looking back over his shoulder to view everyone's hopeful faces longing for rest, he replied. "Fine, you guys rest. I'll keep searching." He kept on walking while the others sat down.

"That guy won't quit." Cody sighed,watching Matt's retreating figure.

Matt's refusal to rest paid off for he found himself before a large building; definitely Ken's base.

"Gabumon!" He called to his friend. "You go in first and wave me in if the coast is clear."

"You got it, Matt." The little wolf waddled to the entrance.

A couple of seconds passed before Matt spotted his friend waving him in. Carefully, Matt scurried towards the entrance and went in with great care.

The two walked from hallway to hallway; occasionally passing a room or two. Heading north of the empire, they noticed a dim light coming from a room at the end of the corridor. They cautiously ran to it and peered inside.

Inside there was a single chair in the center and before it were multiple screens, all of which showed various parts of the Digiworld. One was taping Matt's group which was still resting. Another showed Agumon knocked out and locked in a cage, and the others showed different hallways and in them walked Kari, Gatomon, and the others.

"He's watching us." Matt wearily whispered.

"Matt, look!" Gabumon tugged on his partner's sleeve and pointed to a screen on the bottom right.

The screen revealed the inside of a jail cell and in it were Sora and Tai, huddled in a corner, holding hands. Matt clenched his teeth and kicked the chair, causing it to fall down with a loud clatter.

"Don't like what you see?" A voiced mocked from behind them.

"It's Ken!" Gabumon announced.

"Gabumon, attack!" Matt whispered.

The little Digimon nodded and charged at Ken, not really intending to hurt him, but just to give him a scare. And it did for Ken let out a yelp and dove out of the way.

Falling on his stomach, the wind was knocked out of him and in the process, the keys to the cell as well. In a swift movement, Matt grabbed them and ran. "Let's go Gabumon!" He commanded.

They ran from corridor to corridor, room to room, until they found the holding cell.

"Guess who?" Gabumon happily exclaimed.

"Gabumon!" Sora shouted in glee.

"The one and only!"

"Where's Matt?" Sora's concerned question made Tai frown.

"He's coming and he's got the keys!"

Matt came running and jingled the keys in triumph. He quickly unlocked the door and was greeted by a great bear hug from Sora.

"Thank you Matt!"

"Eh..." Matt blushed and looked away from Tai's icy glare.

Suddenly the complex was filled with the alarming sounds of a bell; Ken had issued an alert and was calling on his evil digimon for help.

"We better hurry!" Gabumon suggested.

The three ran out, going straight, left, and right; finding Davis and the others in different halls and dragging them along. Reunited, they ran out of the complex as fast as they could.

"Gatomon!" Kari yelled while taking out her digivice.

"Right!" The cat nodded.

"Gatomon digivolve to...Nefertimon!"

Still running, Kari hopped on Nefertimon's back and lent her brother a hand so that he too could mount the digimon.

"Tentomon digivolve to...Kabuterimon!" Izzy, Davis, and Veemon climbed on Kabuterimon's back as he took flight. At the same time, Gabumon transformed.

"Gabumon digivolve to...Garurumon!" Matt lifted Sora on to the wolf's back which he then mounted after her.

They managed to get to a safe distance away from the base and took a rest in the depths of a forest. Everyone sighed in relief except a restless Tai.

"Agumon!" he exclaimed.

"Relax Tai." Izzy held out the orange creature in his arms.

"We found him locked up in a cage." Davis explained.

"He's knocked out or something because he wouldn't answer when we called to him." Veemon added while scratching his head.

Tai smiled and took the little dinosaur-looking digimon in his arms. "Agumon." he chuckled at the sight of his still asleep partner who snored now and then.

Everyone laughed at the sight. That is, until a low rumbling was heard off into the not so far distance. At a glance, they were able to see the trees moving. Some tilted and some toppled over while the low rumbling continued.

"What's that?" Gatomon questioned.

"Kimeramon." the dreadful name escaped Kari's lips. She glanced at her brother in despair who nodded in reassurance.

"I'll find our location on my laptop and send the others a message." Izzy spoke as he took out his laptop.

"Make it quick Izzy." Tai spoke. "He's getting closer."


End file.
